Reigate School District # 4624

Stacks Image 1923
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In 1925 the school district of Reigate, No. 4624 was formed. Residents of the area felt a school was necessary, as there were seventeen children of school age. The first school meeting was held at the home of Mr. W. Loft, in April 1924. The main purpose of the meeting was to decide the boundaries of the proposed district. At that time the total assessable property within the proposed district was $86,000. A committee was formed to continue the planning. The trustees were Mr. W. J. Lucas, P. Kingharn, and S. Dixon, Mr. Charles Newton was appointed secretary. Reigate was chosen as the name of the new school district, taken from the former home of Mr. Loft near London, England. Mr. Loft was one of the very early settlers in the area. The school site was chosen in NW34-41-13-W2.

Construction of Reigate School was completed in 1927. The structure was made ofs quared logs and set on a concrete foundation. It must have been an arduous task, with only hand tools, and very little, money. The school was built with volunteer labour. The work was supervised by Mr. Sawler, senior. The school initially had two cloakrooms and provided ample space for the seventeen pupils. Later the cloakrooms were removed and additional benches built in order to accommodate over fifty students. All through the years, the school was heated with a large wood burning heater.

The first teacher was Cecil Fraser. One teacher taught all grades. During the early years the teacher often boarded with a local family. A teacherage was added to the school site in approximately 1953. For some school years a qualified teacher was not available and a “study supervisor” was hired.


Throughout the years the Reigate School was the focal point of the district. Each Christmas a stage was built for the Christmas Concert that played to a packed house. District meetings were held in the school. Its walls often resounded to local music for country dances. For many years it served as a church on Sunday. The school was closed in 1957.



The Teachers: (some information missing)
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Cecil Fraser

1927

Mrs. J. Phelan

1928

Francis Abbott

1929-36

Mathea Stensrud

1936-37

Rose McClaren

1938-40

Mrs. J. Nykorchuk

1940-41

Elizabeth Hack

1941-42

Mary Duff

1942

Kay Hagen

1942-44

Lucille Classen


Dorothy Soyko


Robert Isinger


Robert Haney


Hilda McMillan


George Chorney


Jim Bertieg


Maurice Kindrachuk


Steven Fedak


Clara Beeching

1954-56

Mary Lefebre

1956-57
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